Resources for Preschool Garden Program

www.growing-minds.org | Growing Minds, a program of ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project), has lots of ideas and lesson plans for the preschool audience. They provide trainings to Head Start and preschool teachers - how to integrate school gardens, taste tests, farm field trips/farmer visits into the curriculum.

Georgia Organics: Farm to PreschoolPortland State University just released a new curriculum that is very comprehensive and you should definitely check it out: www.harvestforhealthykids.orgEngaging Children in STEM education early!A comprehensive yet brief article explaining the importance of engaging children early with science, technology, engineering, and math.Natural Start AllianceThe Natural Start Alliance is a coalition of educators, parents, organizations, and others who want to help young children connect with nature and care for the environment. Natural Start is a project of the North American Association for Environmental Education.

Tips for volunteers in a Pre-K learning garden

Teaching 4-year olds to feel better | NPR EdTips for teaching 3-4Always state the rules of the game clearly. Preschoolers are very hyperactive and can easily wander about, so keep them in check consistently. State the rules and make the norms clear as often as possible throughout the day, especially during teaching sessions.Catch them doing the right things. As with toddlers, preschoolers need affirmation. Always make specific comments that show that you appreciate their virtuous acts.Some Basic Tips for Gardeners Working with Kids

A picture is worth a thousand words. Never tell kids something you could show them.

Young kids have a very short attention span. Make sure that youhave lots of options available so they can get started immediately and stay busy. Digging holes is one thing that seems to hold endless fascination.

Instant gratification helps a lot. Plant radishes even if you don't like them-they come up in three or four days.

Growing their own will generally get kids to try eating things they otherwise wouldn't walk into the same room with.

GETTING DIRTY IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF GROWING UP.

Your role should be as facilitator, rather than as a leader who imposes direction. Be a good model.

When giving out supplies to several kids, try to keep seeds, tools, etc. as similar as possible to avoid the inevitable squabbles.

There are a number of wonderful online resourses to look at beautiful gardens, view curricula and get ideas for outdoor classroom management including agintheclassroom.org as was mentioned. Also lifelab.org and edibleschoolyard.org have terrific materials online. Edible Schoolyard published a great book - The Growing Classroom - worth getting a copy of. There is another great resource from Ohio - http://www.grannysgardenschool.org/ - has dozens of well organized curricula by subject and grade, very helpful.

Delaware: One of our best Garden Coordinators is librarian Sharon Brubaker of Brader Elementary School. She's amassed a comprehensive list of garden related books and has developed terrific projects around the garden. Check out her garden Wikispace http://growwithbooks.wikispaces.com/

We work with designing outdoor learning environements (OLE) in the early childhood setting and have a lot of information about best practices and how to information on our Green Desk and through our Infosheets. You can see examples of OLEs on our project pages, inlcuding the Shape NC Participating Centers. For nutrition specifically, the GoNappSac website has good resources as well.